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2/09/2012 @ 12:53PM15,519 views

Inside The File: What The FBI Uncovered About Steve Jobs

The FBI just released the once-secret file it kept on Apple‘s Steve Jobs, a “Level III background investigation” dossier worked up when he was being considered to join the President’s Export Council, a White House advisory board, back in 1991. There’s a lot of stuff in here, as others have pointed out, about the Bureau’s interest in his use of drugs and alcohol as a young man, and also in his honesty and character.

But what I found most interesting is the form of the investigation itself — the mundane, bureaucratic details that shed a light on how the most powerful government on earth goes about vetting its citizens for sensitive positions–and the mundane, banal responses it got from Steven Jobs, SS# 549-94-3295.

Here, all the rich personal history and corporate intrigue that filled Walter Isaacson’s bestselling bio-tome are stripped out and replaced by a job application for 7-11. Take section 22: “ Your Employment Record.” Jobs checked Yes in answer to the following battery of questions:

Has any of the following happened to you in the last 15 years? If ‘Yes’, begin with the most recent occurrence and go backwards, providing date fired, quit or left, and other information required.

1. Fired from job. 2. Quit a job after being told you’d be fired. 3. Left a job by mutual agreement following allegations of misconduct. 4. Left a job by mutual agreement following allegations of unsatisfactory performance. 5. Left a job for other reasons under unfavorable circumstances.

Jobs picks code 5, and lists 9/85 as the date. Employer’s name and address: Apple Computer. State: CA. ZIP Code: 95014 Has he been arrested, charged or convicted of a felony offense? No. A firearms or explosive charge? No. Offenses related to alcohol or drugs? No. “Have you ever been arrested, charged or convicted of any other type of offense? Leave out traffic fines of less than $100.” Answer: No.

Then 24a. “Do you now use, or within the last five years have you used alcoholic beverages to excess?” Answer: No. 24b. “Do you now use or supply, or with in the last five years have you used or supplied marijuana, cocaine, narcotics, hallucinogenics or other dangerous or illegal drugs?” Answer: No. Has he filed for bankruptcy? His company? Any liens? No, no, no. Then comes 30a, which is really a throwback:

Have you ever been a member, officer or employee of The Communist Party?

Answer: No. Whew. That’s a relief. Farther down, his time “in the wilderness” is compressed into two entries, where he’s asked to list “all corporations, firms or other business enterprises…which you are now or during the past five years have been affiliated as an officer, owner, director….”

Four court cases involving Jobs are listed as “All but the last one have been dismissed and are no longer pending” including his 1985 fight with Apple over “alleged breach of fiduciary duties and misappropriation of trade secrets.” A suit against Jobs, et al filed in 1987 by someone whose name has been blacked out for “alleged wrongful discharge.” A 1984 class action suit filed against Apple is listed as still open. A search of the FBI’s “Investigative Support Information System (ISIS)” for “Jobs*Steven Paul” turns up nothing. The Analyst’s name has been redacted for some reason. And “Based on the background information furnished by Mr. Jobs he has no close relatives residing in communist controlled countries.”

Then the field agents go out. So do they get at the Steve Jobs we’ve now all read about? Pretty much. In in interviews with more than 30 former employers, friends, associates and co-workers, those now-familiar themes come up again and again, compressed into neat, quick, typewritten reports: Steve Jobs was a bright, “charismatic”, leader with questionable morals. The famed “reality distortion field” many people recall surrounding Jobs? The painful history with his daughter Lisa? That’s all in here, translated into a single, painful paragraph of copspeak:

Several individuals questioned Mr. Jobs’ honesty, stating that Mr. Jobs will twist the truth and distort reality in order to achieve his goals. They also commented that, in the past, Mr. Jobs was not supportive of REDACTED (the mother of his child born out of wedlock) and their daughter; however, recently has become more supportive.

Another interviewee “characterized Mr. Jobs as an honest and trustworthy individual; however his moral character is questionable.” Another “stated she was somewhat reluctant to discuss the Appointee since she has questions concerning his ethics and morality.”

Others “offered favorable comments concerning Mr. Jobs character, reputation, associates and loyalty” and are “unaware of any illegal drug use or alcohol abuse by Mr. Jobs.” But, they said, Jobs “stated that during the 1960s and 1970s, Mr. Jobs may have experimented with illegal drugs, having come from that generation.”

The San Francisco office is instructed to insure at least fifteen persons concerning apointee are interviewed, the Better Business Bureau is checked, his reason for termination from “Apple Computers [sic]” is determined. In Cincinnati, agents should “ Check DISCO”, the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office. Sacremento agents are instructed to verify his date and place of birth.

No Silicon Valley Icon worship here. Just the facts, ma’am.

There is some drama tucked away in all this bountiful banality. In February 1985 Jobs and other unnamed Apple executives were threatened by an “unidentified male caller” who advised that “devices” had been placed in the homes of individuals related to company “and one million dollars must be paid.” He called Apple, and was brushed off at first by staff who said the unnamed executive was in meetings. He called back and said it was a family emergency and “Caller also stated that a fourth bomb had been placed but refused to give location and stated this one would go off if authorities notified.”

An unnamed Apple official “refused to comply with unsubs demands and informed him that the felt threat not a real one. Consequently, no attempt made by REDACTED or FBI to follow instructions.” The caller had told the company official to call him back at a phone traced to a public telephone at the San Francisco International Airport, (415) 877-9566 on level 5 of the garage.

The FBI staked it out and dusted it for fingerprints, generating a dozen pages of paperwork. By 8/9/85, the FBI had found no new information regarding the threats. “It is being placed in a closed status by the SF Division.” Just like the rest of the file.

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This somehow reminds me of Arlo Guthrie being arrested for littering (and creating a nuisance), being drafted, and then being asked if he’s moral enough to kill people overseas.

You would think with all the “moral ” people being employed in the government, this country would be better off that it is, eh? Guess there’s no test for greed.

Steve Jobs did much for this country and the world. It shouldn’t matter if he smoked weed or drank or whatever. It’s not anybody’s business as long as you can do the task assigned to you. Talented people often have bad habits. Jobs was an exception.